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Ad Blockers Are Big On Search, Social, Less Likely To Follow Rules

Published on:
15 June 2017

Solution:
Consumer & Audience Targeting

by Laurie Sullivan, MediaPost

What type of person blocks ads? Kantar Media has created a profile. It turns out ad blockers are more likely to be male, less concerned about following rules, and heavily reliant on the Internet for entertainment, information, and content.

Manish Bhatia, North America CEO of Kantar Media, isn't surprised to learn through the data of these behavioral traits. He has a 20-year-old son in college who fits the profile. "He has done research on ad blocking and knows the ins and outs of the Internet and where to find sources for content," he said.

Similar to Bhatia's son, young adults are more likely to use an ad blocker, per data from Kantar Media. Those between the age of 18 and 24 are 109% more likely than the average to use an ad blocker. The percentage significantly drops from there. Adults age 25 to 34 are 32% more likely than average to use an ad blocker. And adults age 35 to 44 are only 8% more likely than the average to use an ad blocker.

And not surprisingly, males have a higher propensity to block ads. In fact, males are 28% more likely to have downloaded an ad-blocking app and 27% more likely to use it, compared with females who are 26% and 25% less likely, respectively, according to data released Thursday.

"The majority surveyed do not have a negative view of advertising," Bhatia said. "People don't mind seeing ads; they just want to improve their experience online."